Thursday, October 28, 2010

At Amplivox, we love visiting with our distributors at events across the country. It gives us a great opportunity to interact with people and other companies in the audio/visual market. Amplivox recently went to the Stampede Vendor Summit in Buffalo, New York. Stampede distributes Amplivox products across the country. The event was held in Buffalo's Asbury Hall, a former church sanctuary turned into a state-of the-art event performance venue.We are thankful for our partnership with Stampede and were very happy to participate in the Summit.

Amplivox also took part in the Big Book of AV Tour 2010 hosted by Stampede at the House of Blues in Chicago, IL. Amplivox was delighted to set up a booth at the event and had a great time. We want to thank Stampede for letting us be a part of these great events. We are looking forward to another Big Book Tour event in Los Angeles,CA later in December. Below you will find pictures and videos from the events. If you are interested in any products you see in the videos, visit us at Ampli.com

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Amplivox Sound Systems prides itself in having high quality products for the best value around. A part of that value is knowing that the production process for your product did not harm the environment. From environment friendly packaging to post consumer materials used in our products we are striving to reduce, reuse and recycle to conserve energy for the future.Our initiative to go green has gotten some great coverage and we wanted to share the news here all in one blog. You'll find all of our Green info and coverage of Amplivox going green here.

We start with our lecterns and podiums. The wood used for our lecterns and podiums is "Forest Friendly" - No trees are cut to produce Amplivox products! Recovered and recycled post-industrial wood residues are used, which helps to stretch forest resources. Composite wood panels made with resins aid timber conservation since they enable wood waste (chips and sawdust) to be used in 5x more construction panels than solid wood or plywood panels. Amplivox wood suppliers have secured the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Mixed Sources accreditation.

Green Cross has certified our raw particleboard panelsas being 100% recycled and recovered wood fiber. We also encourage the local market: All fibers used in Amplivox panels are locally-sourced from post-industrial and post-consumer wood recycling plants. All panels are manufactured locally.

We are also WEEE and RoHS certified. You can find more information on those certifications by clicking on the links.LEED credits are important too. We have a few of those as well:

Materials and Resources 4.1 & 4.2:Recycled Content: •7.5% in Canada and 10% in the US –1 credit •15% in Canada and 20% in the US –1 credit

Materials and Resources 5.1 & 5.2:Regional/Local Materials: % of all project materials are extracted, harvested/recovered and manufactured within a 500-mile radius of site •Minimum of 10% –1 credit •Minimum of 20% -1 credit

Our packing peanuts are also recycled and cuts down on energy and use of resources.

All of our efforts have been well documented by Forbes.com, Yahoofinance.com, and Morningstar. We appreciate the coverage and glad that these media outlets have recognized the importance of companies going green.

Amplivox has worked hard and continues to strive to help the environment through our production process. If you have any questions regarding our efforts in Going Green, check out the press release. If you are interested in purchasing Amplivox products, check out Ampli.com

Monday, October 25, 2010

Amplivox Sound Systems CEO Don Roth recently contributed to the 'Today's Tip' posted on Businessweek's website . The tip is was posted October 8th and dealt with 'Engaging Cause Marketing to Promote Small Business". After Don's fight with prostate cancer, he wanted to aligned the company with breast cancer awareness in a cause marketing campaign. This led to the Pink Podium Promise.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

A little while back we posted a brief blog entry about how using PA audio systems in classrooms can greatly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of education and in turn improving productivity. We have since made a video describing benefits and how Amplivox can help.

The following groups of students have benefited greatly using amplified classrooms:

"Even a 'normal' hearing child can miss as much as 1/3 of what teachers say due to poor acoustics... children with 'normal' hearing experienced an increase in test scores across the board [when in amplified classroom]..."

The graphic on the left illustrates just one way how students benefit from amplified classrooms.

What do teachers say?
Teachers are proponents of amplified classrooms not only for their students but for themselves as well. Studies have shown that Amplified Classrooms:Reduced vocal fatigueImproved Classroom ManagementGreater MobilityCheck out these statistics from teachers:

91% of teachers agreed that they needed to raise their voices less often using amplification

100% agreed that it is easier to get the attention of the whole class

100% agreed (64% strongly agreed) Teachers spend less time managing behavior and more time focusing on the curriculum (Above statistics found on page 7 of this study)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

One of the biggest heartwarming news stories in a long time is the tale of the Chilean miners who were freed after being trapped below the surface of the earth for months.

It is also big news how sunglasses manufacturer Oakley provided sunglasses to protect the miners' eyes as they came up.¹ This compassionate marketing ploy is estimated to give Oakley $41 MILLION in exposure.

So that got me thinking...what if Amplivox donated products to help the cause?² What would they be?

Here are a couple of ideas I had:

Half-Mile Hailer: The Half-Mile Hailer is one of our most popular products as the many testimonies prove (testimony 1, testimony 2). The first miner could have sent this down for the next miner to come up, so that they could be heard loud and clear from a half-mile away with this powerful portable sound system.

Belt-Blaster Pro: Many of the miners were so thankful for the help they received that they went around hugging and personally thanking everyone who helped rescue them. For the others, they could have just used a Belt-Blaster to communicate their message.
Although I'm not sure if this happened it would generate $41 million in exposure for Amplivox, it is fun to think about.

Sometimes celebrities find themselves shoved in front of a microphone and told to speak. Other times they are trying to get an important message across and the equipment does not work. Occasionally, administrators have to make an important announcement and then mess up the names of the people they are referring to. Although we at Amplivox do not like to point and laugh, we do enjoy a good chuckle from time to time. We've posted here a few of our favorite famous mishaps while someone was in front of a microphone here on our blog. Most of these mishaps are accident. Sadly, sometimes it a person putting their foot in their mouth.

Ashlee Simpson Lip Sync's the Wrong Song:The singer was scheduled to preform two songs on Saturday Night Live. The first song went off without a hitch, however when it came time to sing the second song, the production accidentally hit the button for the first track. What followed was Simpson's voice for the first song and her lips not moving, oops!

Former President George W. Bush Finds himself tongue tied:President Bush had many memorable moments behind the microphone during his eight years as President. The video linked is just a small sampling of the former president struggling with a few speeches.

Top 10 Sports Name Mishaps:This is a brief video highlighting some of the funnier moments where administrators, announcers, TV commentators, and even a former president goof up the names of athletes. My favorite is #2, 'Hoof Hearted'

Kanye West (on left) Makes a Fool of Himself:Sometimes in live events it is hard to keep control over everyone. This happened to be the case during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when Taylor Swift won the award for Best Female Video. Kayne, unhappy with the choice, decided to jump on stage, take the microphone from Ms. Swift, and proceed to make a fool of himself. Needless to say, someone should have hit the mute button on the sound board.

Vice President Biden Gets Caught with his Microphone on:The White House decided to hold a press conference shortly after the Health Care Reform Bill was signed. Vice President Joe Biden had just finished introducing President Obama when he steps away from the microphone to give the President a congratulatory hug. As the two embrace, Vice President Biden lets a little colorful language slip and it was picked up over the microphone.

And finally,Muse Amusing Themselves on Italian TVThe English rock band Muse was asked to lip sync one of their hit songs on an Italian TV show in 2009. The lead singer Matthew Bellamy did not like this one bit and took things into his own hands. For the show's performance, the three piece band switched instruments and faked the entire performance. During the performance, you can see that some of the guitar playing does not match the track, nor does the drumming. This is not the first time the band has done this. Although this is not a case where a mishap or goof took place, it is still really funny.

Anytime you need a good laugh, come back to this post. Anytime you need great portable sound equipment, visit us at Ampli.com.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Amplivox is known for its great sound systems, quality lecterns, and wonderful customer service. One thing we also like to boast about is our rich history. Located in Northbrook, IL, Amplivox has been a leader in sound equipment production since 1952. It was founded by Norm Ackerman under the name Perma Power.

Perma Power introduced its line of sound equipment known as Amplivox in the 1960's. At the time, the company was producing one of the first residential radio-controlled garage door openers, supplying Craftsman garage door openers to Sears. In the late 1970s, the company added power outlet strips, surge suppressors, power conditioners and uninterruptible power systems (UPS) for computers. In 1995, Donald Roth acquired the company and continued the tradition of producing quality products at affordable prices.

Amplivox has continued to offer quality sound equipment and is now working toward its 60th anniversary. We are excited about the possibilities that the future holds and want to serve our customers with the utmost excellence. We have made many strides to reach out to our community with our Pink Podiums and our effort to help the environment.

The videos below provide an excellent example of how our quality sound systems have modernized since our old "Perma Power" days. The first video is a Perma Power Roving Rostrum and the second video is the new Amplivox Roving Rostrum (which has been proven to beat the competition).

For all your sound system needs, visit ampli.com or call (800) 267-5486

Friday, October 08, 2010

Email a picture or pictures of you with your Amplivox product to KHalloran@ampli.com which will be uploaded to our Facebook page.1 The more pictures you enter, the higher chance you have of winning!2

That's it!

WHAT YOU'LL WIN: A $50 gift card to anywhere you want. It can be an American Express gift card or a gift card to your favorite restaurant.3

DETAILS: This contest is open from October 8, 2010 until November 25, 2010. One winner will be selected at random and will be notified via Facebook that they won. The winner will be mentioned on our blog as well as Twitter, Facebook, and possibly Youtube.

1Photos must have the Facebooker and their Amplivox product.2Facebookers who upload multiple pictures will only be entered into the drawing once per unique product. Be sure to upload a picture for each of your Amplivox products!3Amplivox employees and their families can't win.

Fresh Start of Illinois is an Illinois not for profit corporation dedicated to offering a safe and engaging environment for the residents of Libertyville and adjacent towns who have recently become unemployed or are in danger of being unemployed. Fresh Start hopes to ease the fears and anxieties of our community members, especially given the current economic environment.

Tom Gottfreid, CEO of Fresh Start says, "We are pleased that Amplivox is here to support us on our one year anniversary of the launch of Fresh Start of Illinois. The Wireless Presidential Plus Lectern is a great addition to the professionalism of our event as we have several Fresh Start Alumni who will sharing their Fresh Start Success Stories and offering words of encouragement to assist other mid-career professionals move from unemployment to employment."

This event will kick off at 5:30 PM on October 7, 2010 at 1512 at the Fresh Start Headquarters located at Artaius Parkway in Libertyville, Illinois. The event will include a wine tasting seminar called "Wine 101", live music, a silent auction, and networking.

Dold is running for the 10th Congressional District in Illinois and wanted to reach out to small businesses in the 10th district. Dold toured the warehouse and answered questions regarding small business and how his campaign plans to work for small businesses if he is elected.

At Amplivox we are proud to partner with community and government leaders to make sure their messages are heard clearly.

Feedback occurs when your microphone is too close to the speakers. To avoid feedback in any sound system the presenter should stand to either side of or behind the speakers. When standing in front, the presenter should leave at least 10 feet between herself and the speakers. You can also turn down the microphone volume.